Progressive (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan Bauer Sells 2,242 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan Bauer sold 2,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $476,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,583,637.50. This represents a 7.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE PGR traded up $4.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $219.97. 2,478,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,294,427. The stock has a market cap of $128.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $254.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.89.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.01%.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,267,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.11.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.